Swinney using Farage as ‘bogeyman’ to distract from SNP failure, Sarwar says

Anas Sarwar has accused the First Minister of using Nigel Farage as a “bogeyman” to distract from the SNP’s failures in Government.

The Scottish Labour leader said John Swinney wanted to make the 2026 Holyrood election about the Reform UK leader, instead of his party’s record.

Reform UK won hundreds of councillors in England this week, overturned a large Labour majority in a Westminster by-election and won its first mayor.

Sarwar said next year will be a “challenge” for his party.

Appearing on BBC Scotland’s The Sunday Show, Sarwar said: “Anyone that’s thought that I’ve had an easy job in the last four years obviously hasn’t been watching.

“It’s been a challenge all over the last four years, and the next year is going to be a challenge, but we’ve come through challenges before and won.

“We’ll do that again in the coming year but we’ve got to persuade the public.”

Sarwar said it should not be assumed that the results in England would be replicated in Scotland.

But he added that there was an “underlying theme” across the UK that “a significant proportion of the people don’t believe that governments are working for them”.

He said the SNP had failed on a host of issues since coming to Government in 2007 and accused the party of using Reform as a tool to distract from its record.

He said: “John Swinney wants to make it about Nigel Farage – I’m not interested in Nigel Farage.

“Nigel Farage has no interest in Scotland, and he has no interest in the people of Scotland.

“I’m interested in the National Health Service, which John Swinney is failing. I’m interested in our education system, which John Swinney is failing.

“I’m interested in spending the Scottish people’s money well and ending the waste of the SNP, which John Swinney is failing in.

“That’s the issues that are going to decide the election next year.

“Nigel Farage can’t fix those issues. He can act as a spoiler and a cover for John Swinney. I can get rid of John Swinney and change the direction for Scotland.”

Sarwar said he did not believe Farage would become prime minister one day – a claim Mr Swinney has said is possible.

“Let’s be really clear about what John Swinney and the SNP are trying to do with Nigel Farage,” the Scottish Labour leader said.

“They had the help of the Tories being in government to play them as the bogeyman – two sides of the same divisive coin – so they didn’t have to talk about their own record, and they didn’t have to deliver for people using Scotland.

“And John Swinney, now that the Tories have collapsed, he’s going to try and play that same game with Nigel Farage.

“The election next year is not about Nigel Farage, it’s about the NHS, and if you think the NHS matters, the Scottish Government matters, and that’s why it’s got to change.”

The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.